


Revelation

by meyari



Series: Hospitality [19]
Category: DCU - Comicverse, Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Harems, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-26
Updated: 2011-08-26
Packaged: 2017-10-23 02:33:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/245324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meyari/pseuds/meyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Superman confronts Lionel and the entity possessing him is revealed to the world in the middle of battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Revelation

Bruce charged out into the mass of running and fighting people, aiming for Clark's side. The dark magic Lionel had cast swirled around Clark, driving him to his knees. He could see Jason and Tim heading for Dick and the Royal Archers had made it inside and were pounding up the stairs to the balcony that surrounded the room. Roy in his Red Archer outfit was leading them, eyes scanning for Dick. As soon as Roy spotted Dick (still?) chained to the wall, Roy shouted and leaped off of the balcony so that he could run straight to Dick.

"You cannot defeat me," the thing living inside of Lionel said in a voice that sent chills down Bruce's spine. "I am beyond you."

"You're a monster who must be destroyed," Clark snarled back at him. The amulet on his chest glowed with a fitful lavender light as it attempted to push back Lionel's magic. "I will not allow you to destroy this world or these people!"

"You cannot win against me," Lionel laughed. His laugh sounded like stone grating together.

"Superman!" Bruce shouted again.

He pulled his sword and started hacking his way through the battle. Too many people were between him and Clark, some of them allies but most of them enemies. Bruce spared a strangely timeless moment during one spinning head shot to check on Dick. The level of panic on his face explained why Dick hadn't immediately gotten free from the chains. He was too terrified to use his skills properly, but that didn't matter.

The Red Knight and the newest Robin were standing between Dick and the crowd. Tim was fast and precise though he lacked power in some of his blows. Jason was at his most vicious as he protected both the boy he loved and Dick. Roy had slung his bow over his shoulder as he freed Dick's wrist from the chain restraining him. By the time Bruce had swung all the way around so that he could continue his drive to Clark's side, Roy was bending over to free Dick's legs.

Tim sped back up again.

"To me!" Princess Diana shouted. "Give no quarter!"

The Amazons shouted, taking as much joy in the brutal combat as Princess Diana did in her consort Steve. Steve stayed at her side, swinging his sword like a true warrior, though his Amazon body guards did their best to ensure that no one came at him from the sides or back. Lord Hal was in his Green Lantern armor, attempting to use his ring to attack Lionel. Unfortunately the spells protecting the throne caused his green magic to bounce off without affecting Lionel.

Lord Katar and Lady Shayera had transformed into their Hawkman and Hawkwoman disguises early on. Their battles against Lionel's troops were brutal and highly efficient but when they tried to attack him on the throne they were flung across the room and into the wall. Flash was there to help them up, and then he was off by Dick and Roy, and then with the Amazons. It seemed as though he was everywhere in the room. Every so often a flash of red and gold appeared by Lionel's throne but it was obvious that he couldn't connect any better than the rest of them. None of them succeeded in attacking Lionel directly, not that Bruce tried. Yet.

In the center of the room, Superman knelt in a clear space that no one dared enter. Lionel's magic was black, swirling like smoke made of knives as he tried to destroy his challenger. No matter what Lionel did though, he couldn't penetrate the lavender aura surrounding Clark. Unfortunately, Clark didn't seem able to stand and the dark magic kept cutting at his head, making him duck behind the shield so that he couldn't use his heat vision on Lionel.

"Superman!" Bruce yelled as he charged into the dark swirling magic surrounding Clark.

It cut at him, not only his body but also his mind. Bruce felt as though there was a voice in the back of his head telling him that he was a fool to even attempt this, that they were all doomed. He could hear something being chanted over and over again, a litany of pain and fear and hopelessness that tried to sap his strength and send him to his knees, but Bruce pushed that away and focused on Clark.

Superman, hero, friend, lover, beloved holder of Bruce's heart. Nothing mattered as much as getting to Clark's side and helping him in this battle against Lionel, against Darkseid. Bruce couldn't tell if Clark was even aware of his efforts to gain Clark's side. He seemed to be totally focused on forcing himself to stand.

"Superman!" Bruce bellowed again, wincing as he wished for the Batman armor that he'd been forced to leave in the cave today as one of the strands of magic opened a cut on his cheek.

He finally made it to Clark's side, grabbing his arm and hauling at him. Clark felt like he weighed a million pounds, which explained in part why he'd collapsed to his knees. There was surprise and love and worry in Clark's eyes though he didn't say a thing. Working together, they managed to get Clark back on his feet, the shield between the two of them and Lionel.

Lionel laughed, apparently amused by the thought of a mere shield protecting them from his magic. The beams that Koriand'r had spoken of hadn't appeared yet so it made sense that Clark left the cover on his shield. They wouldn't want to use it too soon.

"You truly cannot believe that you can challenge me?" Lionel said in a voice that was so foreign that it might as well be coming from another world, another person. "I am beyond you!"

He fired another blast of magic at them, making both Clark and Bruce stagger. They braced each other and managed to stay on their feet. To Bruce's surprise he saw Lex behind Lionel. He'd lost track of Lex during the attack and getting to Clark's side. Lex looked as though he wanted to be sick but there was determination in his eyes as he dove at Lionel's neck.

"You are not Lionel Luthor!" Lex bellowed so loudly that the entire room stilled. "You're not my father! You're some sort of dark god possessing him!"

He wrapped an arm around Lionel's throat and slapped something against the side of his neck. Bruce gasped, along with most of the crowd, when he realized that it was a knife. Lionel roared and flung Lex off. Lex flew across the room and into the far wall, slumping unconscious to the floor. As he did so the knife in Lex's hand dug into his throat and cut so deeply that Lionel should have died instantly.

Instead the wound closed up without the slightest bit of blood being released. Bruce thought that it was like watching an artist erase a pencil mark on a sketch, taking away a minor slip of the hand. Lionel snarled, raising one hand to rub his unmarked throat. His eyes changed color, shifting to an evil glowing red. As they changed his skin changed, becoming dull gray as though he were made of granite. The hair and beard disappeared and Lionel's clothing changed to a sort of dark armor that protected his body.

"Little fool," Lionel, no Darkseid, said in a voice that filled the entire room, possibly the entire building, "No one can stop me for I am Darkseid, your true god. All shall bow to me and worship my power!"

Around them pandemonium erupted. The lords that had supported Lionel ran screaming from the room as if in terror of their lives. Bruce thought that they probably were. They knew far more directly just how evil Darkseid was. They had been touched directly by him. The Amazons started chanting prayers to Aphrodite but their words seemed hollow and weak. It seemed to Bruce that the very air had gone cold and dank, as though all life and joy was being sucked out of the room and into Darkseid himself.

Bruce's breath caught in his chest despite his efforts to stay strong. He could see Katar and Shayera reacting the same way. Lord Arthur had staggered and collapsed to his knees beside Lex. Jason had Tim in his arms, holding him up as Tim didn't seem able to stand on his own. Surprisingly, Steve seemed unaffected, though he stayed quite firmly behind Princess Diana. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Dick appeared unaffected as well. His collar and cuffs glowed in the growing gloom of the throne room.

"We will never worship you, Darkseid," Clark declared in his Superman voice. "Your days of power are over. We will stop you and end your reign of terror over the universe."

"You are a fool, Kryptonian," Darkseid said. He glared at Clark and the red of his eyes seemed to sparkle, as if he was a lantern whose flame was exposed to the wind. "I destroyed your world and annihilated your entire race. You are the sole survivor. You cannot defeat me when your entire race failed to defeat me before."

Clark gasped, shifting backwards at so suddenly discovering who he was, what race he was, and then from hearing that his people were dead. Bruce put his hand on Clark's back, trying to reassure him. This apparently truly was Clark's battle far more than it was Bruce's but Bruce fully intended to stay by Clark's side and help him in every way possible.

The little touch seemed to strengthen Clark's will. He smiled behind his helmet, only his eyes showing it, and nodded his thanks to Bruce. Clark stepped forward and squared his shoulders to glare at Darkseid who glared back at him fiercely.

Silence echoed in the room as they stared each other down. Darkseid's helmeted troops hesitated as they watched. The Amazons had stopped their prayers when Darkseid revealed Clark's heritage. Lex slowly raised his head from the floor but he stayed as silent as the rest. For one wild moment, Bruce thought that the silent stare-down would continue for eternity, darkness incarnate on one side and Clark as the embodiment of life, love and hope on the other.

"My race lacked what was needed to defeat you, Darkseid," Clark said so confidently that Bruce felt stronger for just hearing his voice. "You cannot defeat me. You cannot defeat us."

The amulet around his neck glowed more brightly, pushing back the darkness gathering in the room. As the darkness retreated, Bruce could see the balcony with the Royal Archers again. Conner was there in his disguise. He had an arrow on the string but it was obvious from the way he and the other archers peered towards Darkseid that they couldn't see well enough to fire.

Darkseid threw back his head and laughed. The sound made Bruce flinch and back off a step from the sheer horror of it. It sounded like death. It sounded like misery. It sounded like granite being gargled with razor blades, or a dozen other painful, miserable things that should never exist and yet suddenly did.

Clark stared back at Darkseid, untouched by the horror of Darkseid's laugh. Princess Diana growled and began singing prayers to Aphrodite as loudly as she could. Her Amazons joined in, filling the room with praise for the Goddess of Love. That cut off Darkseid's laughter so Lord Arthur joined in, chanting prayers to his own Gods of the sea. Lord Katar and Lady Shayera followed suit and then Lady Selina laughed began singing an old hymn that Lord Bruce had learned as a little boy. Even Lord Oliver added his prayers to the voices calling on the gods for strength and love.

"You cannot defeat us," Clark said over the voices of the others, "because we have what they lacked. We have each other."

"Then you will all die, foolish worms," Darkseid growled.

He lifted one hand and blasted dark magic at Clark and Bruce like a tidal wave of evil coming to destroy them all.


End file.
